


when it gets cold i'll be yours

by lifewasradical



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Fluff, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Michael falls and calum helps him, calum works at the ice skating rink, lashton takes Michael ice skating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-15
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:53:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28081968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lifewasradical/pseuds/lifewasradical
Summary: Michael doesn’t know why the hell he let Luke and Ashton take him ice skating. He’s clumsy enough on flat ground, always tripping over his feet and steadying himself on any flat surfaces he can find. He doesn’t like activities that make him feel anything less than grounded, both emotionally and physically.And yet, here he is, shuffling his way across the ice with one hand on the wall, moving no more than a few inches at a time.Or, Michael falls while skating and Calum helps him.
Relationships: Luke Hemmings/Ashton Irwin, Michael Clifford/Calum Hood
Comments: 1
Kudos: 21





	when it gets cold i'll be yours

**Author's Note:**

> Based on the prompt from Shal, "this should help to warm your hands up"! 
> 
> Title from Fool's Holiday by All Time Low

Michael doesn’t know why the hell he let Luke and Ashton take him ice skating. He’s clumsy enough on flat ground, always tripping over his feet and steadying himself on any flat surfaces he can find. He doesn’t like activities that make him feel anything less than grounded, both emotionally and physically. 

And yet, here he is, shuffling his way across the ice with one hand on the wall, moving no more than a few inches at a time. He just can’t do it, his mind refuses to comprehend the concept of skating, even when Luke explains it to him again and again, showing him what to do. He eventually forced them to give up teaching him, sending Luke and Ashton off across the ice to enjoy their date without trying to babysit Michael. 

He watches them skate around the rink longingly, hand in hand, giggling to one another. It vaguely makes Michael jealous, not of Luke or Ashton in particular, but of the idea of having someone to do all of the cliche couple things with. He loves them both for including him in their activities, but he always feels a bit like he’s being mocked, though he knows that just isn’t possible. 

He appreciates Luke’s friendship, and the friendship that was created between him and Ashton when they started dating, but he wishes he had his own boyfriend to drag around with him, forcing double dates and such. He wants to cuddle up with someone by the fireplace, with cookies and hot chocolate and whatever other basic holiday traditions he can think of. He wants the safety, the reminder that he’s wanted and loved and appreciated. 

Instead, he tags along on Luke and Ashton’s dates, entertained by their relationship but always silently sad, wishing for the day where he can feel that too. 

And that brings him to the ice rink, shifting his weight slowly as he focuses, trying to keep himself upright as long as possible. His feet slip out a little bit with each glide, just close enough to be concerning. He knows he’s going down before he even takes the next move forward, flailing wildly as his feet fly out from under him, landing down on his butt with a thud. 

Michael winces, feeling the tears immediately spring up in his eyes. He’s ashamed that he can’t do anything right, can’t even do something as simple as ice skating. He never learned when he was younger, with no siblings to do any fun outdoor activities with, his parents mostly leaving him to play video games alone in the living room. 

There are kids doing laps around him as he struggles with trying to get himself to his knees. Regardless of how embarrassing that it may be, he’ll crawl to the exit if he has to, just so he can get these goddamn skates off. He wants to sit and wallow in his uncomfortability for a while longer, until Luke and Ashton are ready to go. He hopes he can flag them down sooner rather than later, and that the tears pricking the sides of his eyes subside quickly, not wanting to be the grown adult crying at a damn ice skating rink. That’s one more blow that he just doesn’t think that his ego can handle tonight. 

He’s almost to his knees, eyes clouded by the tears he’s desperately trying to hold back when someone skates up next to him, crouching down effortlessly to Michael’s position on the floor. MIchael prays that it's one of his friends, but just based on the skates alone, he knows that he’s about to get exponentially more embarrassed. He swipes at his cheeks, making sure that none of his tears have betrayed him before looking up and making eye contact with the warmest eyes he’s ever seen. 

“Are you okay? Can I help?” the man asks, keeping his distance but also extending a hand out to Michael. Michael appreciates his space, glad that the other man didn’t just start touching him without his consent first, stranger danger and all. Still, he’s awkward, trying to get himself standing without needing help from someone else. He’s independent, stubborn in his ways unlike anyone else he knows. 

“I’m fine,” Michael insists, getting himself up to a near standing position, bent over awkwardly as he grabs at the railing, hissing immediately when he realizes how cold his hands have gotten from being pressed against the ice. He already has a hard time regulating his body heat, something that is heightened by spending the extra amount of time in the cold. He should have brought gloves, he thinks, as he tries to flex his fingers, finding it uncomfortable to do so. 

“Are you sure? It seems like you fell pretty hard there, can I at least check you out?” the man asks, sliding a little closer to Michael. 

Michael furrows his eyebrows, finally looking over at the other man fully, noticing that he’s decked out in official attire. It clicks in Michael’s mind that he works for the ice rink, so at least he can be a little less wary of the man’s motives. Still, he doesn’t want to give in so easily, but when he tips forwards again, he reluctantly knows he has to agree. 

Michael rolls his eyes but accepts the hand that’s extended towards him, standing up to his full height. He appreciates the warmth of the other person’s hand, taking away the sting of the cold for a moment. If he closes his eyes, he could imagine being in this scenario, except he’s gracefully gliding across the ice, looking majestic and free, rather than waddling like a penguin. The man wraps an arm around Michael’s torso, holding him in place as they begin their move across the ice. 

They make it to the exit slowly, the man carefully holding Michael up to make sure that he doesn’t fall over again. He appreciates it, feeling a lot more steady on his feet when there is someone here to make sure that he won’t actually face plant. He vaguely imagines the possibility of falling forward, smacking his head on the ice painfully. He cringes as that, physically moving forward a bit until he feels the strong hold of the employee keeping him in place. 

“Careful, we’re almost off the ice,” he reminds Michael, a small smile on his face. Michael nods, focusing his energy on making sure that he gets to sit down and take off his damn skates. 

When they’re finally sitting, the mysterious man huffs out a “one second” before taking off across the carpeting, just as graceful on steady ground as he is on the ice. Michael watches him leave before electing to take off his skates, knowing he’s far past done skating for the day. He looks back out at the ice, not even seeing Luke or Ashton doing laps any longer. He tries to piece together where they are, scanning the stands carefully for any sight of his friends with no success.

“Here, this should help to warm your hands up,” the man offers, returning to Michael’s side with a paper cup filled with what looks like hot chocolate. Michael sniffs it dramatically, holding the cup between both hands. It is doing a good job at warming up his hands, even if he hasn’t taken a real sip of it yet. 

“How am I supposed to drink this when I don’t even know your name?” Michael asks. 

“I work here,” the man supplies, a teasing grin on his face. 

“You could just be impersonating an employee, you don’t have a name tag on.”

The man looks down at his chest, crinkling his eyes in confusion, “I did… I don’t know where it went. Hopefully I didn’t lose it out on the ice.”

Michael shrugs noncommittally, still searching the crowd for his friends. He wants to get going, so he hopes that maybe they’re taking off their skates, getting ready to leave too. 

“Calum,” the man finally says, eyes flitting around Michael’s face. 

“Michael,” he supplies back, smiling at the man sitting next to him. 

“Well Michael, how are you feeling now? Warmer?” Calum asks, doing a less than subtle once over of Michael, eyes trailing slowly up from his legs to his face. Michael feels his cheeks heat up, blush taking over the high points of his face. 

“I think so,” Michael whispers, taking a small sip of the hot chocolate in his hands. Calum grins back at him, “What happened to being nervous that I poisoned your drink?” 

Michael hums, taking another slow, long sip and smacking his lips together carefully, “Death from a cute guy isn’t the worst way I could go. Hell, I could have frozen to death out on the ice, that would have been unfortunate.”

Calum laughs loudly, drawing attention over to both of them. Michael blushes deeper, savoring the sound of Calum’s laughter. It calms the last of his anxiety from the fall, bringing him a sense of comfort that he didn’t expect to feel from someone he just met. 

“Michael!” a voice calls from behind him, Luke and Ashton heading his direction swiftly. Michael deflates a little bit, not ready for his time with Calum to be over with so soon. Calum also frowns, shifting his eyes between Michael and the boys rapidly approaching the benches. 

“Where were you guys? I almost died, Calum here had to save me from freezing to death,” Michael whines, pouting up at his friends when they’re close enough. Michael tries to ignore how disheveled they both look, cheeks pink from more than just the cold. He still raises his eyebrows at them, holding back a laugh when Luke glares at Michael, yelling “cut it out” with his eyes. 

“Who’s this?” Ashton ignores the question completely, directing everyone’s attention back to Calum and Michael. 

“Calum, I work here,” Calum offers, smiling at the pair. 

“Calum who saved my life when my two friends completely left me alone to die,” Michael dramaticizes, resting his head against his forehead and sighing. 

“Fuck off,” Luke barks, sighing at Michael’s sneer. 

“I should uh, probably be getting back to work, there might be other skaters out there to save,” Calum says, pointing his thumb over his shoulder at the rink. 

Ashton and Luke grab Michael’s skates in a flurry, muttering something about going to return them for Michael. He’s momentarily so thankful for his friends, mentally deciding he’s going to treat them for dinner or something if this all goes well. 

“Uh, thank you for helping me. I know it’s your job but like, I still appreciate it,” Michael shares, looking down at the cup in his hands again. 

He sees Calum smile from the corner of his eye, glowing under the unfortunate fluorescent lights. He clears his throat, looking over at the ice again as he stands up. Michael can’t help but stand too, rocking back and forth on his heels. 

“Look, I’d really like to see you again,” Calum blurts out, biting on his lip. 

Michael beams, grin wide to show his teeth, “I would really love that,” he replies. 

“Cool, then call me sometime?” Calum asks, backing away from Michael quickly. 

Michael begins to panic, stress settling into his bones as Calum retreats, “Wait, I don’t have a way to contact you!” he calls after him, tilting his head to the side as he takes a step forward. Calum keeps making steady progress in the opposite direction, Michael too rooted in place in confusion to chase after him. 

“Check the cocoa!” he calls, winking and waving as he skates off into the crowd, effectively getting lost in the sea of humans. 

Sure enough, Michael looks down at his cup, removing his hand from the paper to see digits scrawled across the side alongside “xo, C”. Michael is sure that the warmth in his chest is from more than just the hot chocolate. He’s never been more grateful for his friends forcing him to be their third wheel, he thinks as he skips over to where Luke and Ashton are waiting on the side. He definitely will be tagging along on their next ice skating date.

**Author's Note:**

> Talk to me on Tumblr [lifewasradical](https://lifewasradical.tumblr.com) 💜


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